


Crazily Familiar

by kenneth_thegreat



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Anxiety, Depression, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Mental Illness, Moving Away, No Smut, Past Suicide Attempt, Psych Ward, Roommates, Self-Harm, Suicidal Ideation, adolescent psych ward, bipolar, finding each other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:21:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28128282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kenneth_thegreat/pseuds/kenneth_thegreat
Summary: Dream and Technoblade met in the psych ward when they were kids, became friends, and got separated. Years later, they manage to find each other again. How do they behave? Are they any better than when they were 13, or will they need to care for each other while still learning how to deal with themselves? Friends to lovers, no smut.CW: suicidal ideation/past attempt, non-graphic self-harm (scars, picking, etc.),  probably disordered eating. Read at your own risk, TW in chapter descriptions and authors notes.
Relationships: Clay | Dream & Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream/Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 53
Kudos: 470





	1. 1. Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> TW: past suicide attempt, non-graphic SH
> 
> Hey y'all! Welcome back! This prompt's been on my list forever, before I got obsessed with "You don't have to leave," so enjoy! Tryin my best.

Dream sat in his bed awake, fantasies of jumping out the window still fresh in his mind when one of the nurses walked a slumped over teen into his room. He perked up, smiling brightly at the nurse who scowled back at him. “Clay, it’s 3 in the morning. Go to bed,” she snapped, “and don’t bother your roommate this time. You both need to be asleep by the time I come check back in, or else.”

“I told you I don’t wanna be called that, I go by Dream!” he called as she stormed out, leaving the other kid behind to stare at the ground where she’d been standing. Dream jumped out of bed, non-slip socks preventing his fall. “Hi! I’m Dream, don’t listen when they call me any other name, I don’t like it,” he moped, almost immediately recovering with a large grin, “so you’re my new roommate, huh? What got you in?”

The other boy was taller than Dream, but hunched over like that he couldn't tell by how much. Dream bounced on his toes, finally something to do, even if the other kid wasn’t talking much. A game! “Ooh, you’re right! More fun for me to guess, huh? Let’s see....wouldn’t be an eating disorder or they’d have you hooked up to stuff, they always have those kids on something when they come in. You kinda look like the violent type, but you haven’t tried to strangle me yet like Zee from two roommates ago and he tried much sooner, so probably not. Unless they have you all high…” he waved a hand in the other kid’s face, “nah. Would’ve wheeled you in then. So...depressed? Probably tried to ‘o-f-f’ yourself, am I right?”

A small twitch of the kid’s hand caused him to laugh, clapping his hands together under his chin, “NAILED IT!” he jumped onto his bed, sitting criss-cross applesauce. “No bandages, i’m gonna say pills?”

The taller boy clambered onto his bed, silently sitting on the covers. He glanced over at Dream, then sighed.

“Do you ever shut up?” he said, voice monotone. Dream giggled, picking at the skin on his legs and shaking his head violently, “nope!”

The tall boy groaned, settling on his side facing the wall. Like that would stop Dream, “how old are you? I just turned thirteen, right before I came here actually. I’m a teenager now!” his chest puffed up, clearly proud of that fact. 

“Call me Tech. Thirteen. Yes.” he deadpanned quietly.

Dream cocked his head to the side, momentarily confused by the sudden influx of answers and needing to process for a moment. Oh, okay, “that’s 5/5 for me then, Tech,” he bubbled, rubbing the picked apart skin of his legs. “You don’t talk much do you? That’s fine, I can talk plenty for both of us right now. I’ve got bipolar type 1, that means I have mania and depressive episodes. They found me on top of my school running on the roof to jump into a tree on a bet so here I am. Apparently that counts as mania, like when I don’t need to sleep for a couple’a days and stuff. BUT it means I come up with the best games!” he paused, sucking in a breath, “right now I have a game with the nurses. I’m trying to see how many pairs of socks they’ll replace before I get stopped. I’m at five now, just keep hiding them in my pillowcase. Hey, since you’re my friend now, you can help!” 

The smaller boy continued to babble on, not mentioning Tech’s lack of speech again. It was simultaneously nice and annoying. Don’t get him wrong, he didn’t like interacting with people, but if he had to be trapped with anyone it might as well be with a kid who didn’t hate him or try to get him to talk. As irritating as the boy’s rapid speech was, it was also amusing.

“-and he had to get surgery, so that’s why I’m not allowed to play uno anymore.” Wait, what the fuck?

“Come again?” Dream jumped, fingernails digging into his scabbed thigh, “oh! That got your attention, huh? So, Joe gets hallucinations, right-”

The nurse knocked and threw open the door, “Clay, shut up! Can’t you see your roommate is trying to sleep? Do I need to get security again?” she barked. Tech watched as Dream flinched back, hands lying flat on his bloody skin and trembling slightly. He frowned, the kid looked scared.

He cleared his throat before softly rasping, “he said his name is Dream, I think he’d prefer you call him that. Why’d you call me Tech when I asked, but not him?” The nurse hesitated, “well, sweetie, you’ll understand later. Uh, don’t hesitate to come to me about him,” she gestured to the other side of the room, “he’s trouble.”

Tech glared into his hands, “I can handle myself, thank you very much.” The nurse rolled her eyes, muttering about ‘another one’ as she left, closing their door with a slam. Tech turned to face the wall again, ignoring the burning of eyes into his back from the oddly quiet boy. His eyelids drooped, threatening to close. As Tech drifted off, he thought he heard a small ‘thanks.’

A nurse’s knock on the door awoke Tech the next morning far too early considering his late arrival. He groaned, burying his head under the scratchy pillow, wishing he was anywhere but here. 

“Morning,” Dream spoke quietly from near his bed. Tech opened one eye to peek out at the kid in the blinding light. He looked...different than Tech had expected. Dirty blonde hair rested in a mop on his head, freckles scattered haphazardly across tan skin, his marbled green eyes scrunched to match a crooked grin. He was short, relatively thin but wearing an absolutely giant lime green hoodie that went down to mid thigh. He was, simply put, cute, but the kind of cute that would easily become handsome as he got older. 

Tech flipped to face the wall, hoping to get away with sleeping for a bit longer. “Woah, I didn’t see your hair was pink!” he exclaimed. Tech groaned, accepting that sleep had escaped him for the time being. He sat up, stretching. 

“It is? Wonder when that happened?” Tech mused, voice still gravely with sleep, “do you see where they put my clothes?” Dream nodded, gesturing to the desk at the foot of his bed where a small bag sat, “they probably took out all the strings already, so don’t panic. Bathrooms are right outside the door to the left, it’s labelled. Boys are on the right side, girls on the left,” he twisted his hands, looking near painful, “i’ll stay here and we could walk to the cafeteria together if you wanted?”

Tech narrowed his eyes at the shorter boy, nodding and grabbing a random shirt and bottoms from the back before leaving. It was weird how the kid changed from last night til now, he was acting calmer, but clearly was still full of energy.

The bathrooms weren’t the worst. He studied his limp pink hair, roots obviously coming through, and dark circles under his eyes. Guess trying to kill yourself didn’t help the looks at all, he mused as he met Dream back in the room.

The blonde jerked up from his upside down position on the bed, scrambling off so fast Tech was afraid he’d crack his skull open yet landing on his feet, cat-like. “C’mon, we want to get first dibs on the good cereal before morning meds,” he grinned, grabbing Tech’s hand and bounding out of the room.

“Mornin’ Rock! Peter, Sam, a pleasure. Cherry, looking good!” Dream called cockily as they passed by people. Most of them scowled at him, some only glaring but others outright swearing as he walked by. Tech simply followed the blonde, too curious to break away and too anxious to be alone. This kid was weird, but he was the only connection the pinkette had.

Dream sat at an empty table, gesturing for the older boy to sit with him. “How’d ya know so many people?” Tech mumbled through a yawn, it was far too early. Dream smiled his crooked little grin and shrugged, “most of them don’t like me cause I started rambling while manic at them. Actually, none of them like me…” he tailed off, shoulders curling forwards self-consciously “I’m just here now, well, until you got here!”

Tech mused as he ate his cereal, the kid was pretty inflammatory, he understood. But at the same time, he was pretty cute, harmless too. Well, if you ignored the memory that he’d been totally willing to jump off a roof for a bet, he was just a kid, a kid who was willing to deal with Tech without even knowing him.

“So after breakfast and meds we have group therapy 1. It’s with Dr. Lou, he’s my favorite. Well, he’s the only one who knows me right. He knows I have trouble focusing and stuff and lets me walk around sometimes, or play with a little toy. You shouldn’t have any problems with him!” Dream reassured, gently touching the older boy’s arm. Tech flinched back as if he’d been hit, putting some distance between them. 

“I get it, I’m sorry. I should’ve asked.” he apologies, oddly subdued. Tech returned his arm to the original place, forcing himself to stay still and mustering a tiny smile to the younger boy. Dream’s returned smile was full of self-depreciation as he rubbed at his forearms under the table.

Tech frowned, purposefully looking to where the kid was scratching. Dream followed his eyes and blushed bright red before slamming his hands palm flat on the table with a thud.

“Don’t tell Dr. Lou,” he pleaded, tears flickering into green eyes, “I wasn’t trying to mess with anything, I forgot!” Tech’s curiosity was piqued, he looked down once more and gently peeled back the massive sleeve.

Lines criss-crossed the kid’s forearm, some white, some pink, and some surrounded by angry red irritation. Dream snatched his arm back and held it close to his chest, twin red splotches high on his cheeks, “depressive episode,” he muttered, pulling the sleeves back down to form sweater paws, “and my ADHD makes me pick when I get figet-y.”

Tech nodded solemnly, “I don’t focus too well either,” he offered, taking another bite of cereal. The kid was staring again, he seemed to open his mouth to speak, but a five minute warning sparked them both to eat a bit faster and shut him up.

Tech couldn’t get out of bed. Well, he could, he had working limbs that could swing sideways just a bit and with a little push he’d be standing. But it was just...better, buried under a scratchy blanket and pillow. He didn’t have the energy.

Dream settled hard on the edge of Tech’s bed, bouncing slightly. “Hey sleepyhead, we gotta get to breakfast,” he sang, yanking on the edge of the older boy’s blanket. Tech let him, fingers lacking the coordination to keep his grip on the blanket. Dream frowned, the older boy was supposed to put up some kind of fight, even if it was just a growled out request for more sleep time. 

“Hey, c’mon. I’m already dressed and everything, lazy bones,” Dream teased, voice lacking the amused edge it normally did. He was worried.

Tech simply breathed out, eyes slipping closed. Was it really worth it to get up? He might get told off by the nurses, but it’s not like they’d kill him. And if they did, he was fine with that too.

A whine sounded from where Dream sat, “I’m hungry, you must be too! Let’s go to breakfast, Tech.” The pinkette shrugged, he really wasn’t. He didn’t feel much of anything at the moment. Starving wouldn’t be the worst option…

Dream’s stomach absolutely revolted, growling the loudest he’d ever heard a stomach rumble. He blushed, grabbing his practically concave tummy with both hands and hunching over with a groan, “I’m starving Tech, and I’m not going anywhere until you come with me. So either I starve here, or I get desperate and eat you, your choice.”

He knew his friend was just trying to be funny, but Tech felt a dull throb of worry rise. He didn’t want his only friend to be hungry, and as stubborn as the blonde was that’d be the outcome. Tech huffed out, mustering up the energy to throw a leg out and sweep the younger boy to the ground where he pouted momentarily. A twitch of his cheeks signaled Tech’s amusement, throwing a hand down, “c’mon, they aren’t gonna be waitin’ for us,” he droned, ignoring the large grin thrown up at him with what he was sure to be dazzlingly bright eyes.

There’s no reason why Tech should’ve liked him, none at all. He didn’t have friends, let alone hyperactive, chatty, borderline annoying friends like Dream. The blonde was the type of kid he’d usually stay far away from, avoiding crossing paths even briefly. But for some reason, he didn’t want to leave Dream- maybe it’s cause he found someone lonely for being too social and he liked the irony, or maybe somethin’ else. 

They grew close, eating every meal together and spending their free time playing uno or making up stories about their cell mates, er, other patients. The nurses quickly learned to not separate them, as Tech seemed to calm the troublemaker down and keep him out of trouble, but the effect only lasted when they were together.

Dream’s energy negated Tech’s general exhaustion, and vice versa. When Dream started picking at his skin, Tech’d bat his hands away or throw something for the kid to fidget with. Likewise, on nights where Tech just wanted to crawl in a hole and die, Dream lulled him to sleep with outrageous stories of what was happening outside their pediatric ward.

“Tech, you’re making really good progress! The doctors seem to think you’ll be able to leave sometime this week, maybe even today if you’re good” his nurse praised at morning meds. He hastily gulped, choking on the provided water and waving off the concerned nurse before catching his breath and returning to their usual table.

Dream showed up seconds later, plopping down next to the older boy with a practiced motion, nudging against his shoulder gently. Tech shifted uncomfortably, not with the touch, mind you. He’d gotten used to that weeks ago after Dream had a particularly bad night and nearly clawed his skin open. Tech had fallen asleep still holding the blonde’s wrists in his own hands, head tucked protectively under the older boy’s chin. Since then, they’d been as touchy as the nurses allowed them to be. 

“Hey, what’s up?” Dream asked through a mouthful of chewed up food. Thankfully, he swallowed before continuing, “your meds get switched again without asking? Man, they have to stop doing that!”

Tech shook his head, ignoring the concerned look the kid threw at him, “they might send me home. Apparently I’m no longer a danger to myself,” he mumbled, poking at his Captain Crunch forlornly. Don’t get him wrong, he was so ready to leave the psych ward. But discharge meant he wouldn’t see Dream anymore. He didn’t have a phone number to give to stay in contact, not that they were supposed to, of course.

Dream deflated before slapping a fake ass grin onto his face like Tech wouldn’t notice how wrong it felt, “that’s good! You can see your little sister, you said you missed her, right?” Tech pretended not to notice the tears that welled up in suspiciously bright green eyes.

“I miss her, yeah,” he trailed off, looking anywhere but at the younger, “but I’m gonna miss you if I leave, huh?” Dream threw his arms around the pinkette, stifling back his tears. “I’ll see you sometime dude, I promise. Even if we move all the way across the country, I’ll find you,” he promised, chin lifting slightly and eyes hardening, jade glinting dangerously. Tech shivered at the intensity, nodding once.

He left that night. His mom’s gaze kept bouncing over to him on the car ride home, almost as if she couldn’t believe he was really coming home. “Sweetie, you seem...off. Is everything okay, do you want me to go back?” she worried, slightly frantic look on her face. Tech cringed, he hated making her feel like that. 

“No, just gonna miss my friend,” he mused, looking out the window wistfully. His mom looked confused, “you...made a friend,” she sounded out before breaking out in a sob. Tech panicked, what did he do this time?

His mom wiped away her tears with a laugh, “I’m sorry, sweetie, I just- you made a friend,” her voice sounded so hopeful Tech could’ve cried with her, “I...wasn’t sure what was going to happen when I picked you up, but...you made a friend. I-I just have a good feeling. When is he getting discharged, can you keep in touch? I can’t wait to meet him!”

This time tears did sting at his eyes. He looked away, reluctant to see his mom’s face fall, “he doesn’t have any kinda social media or electronics, his parents are really strict. And he lives half-way across the state. We...decided it was for the best to not dwell on impossibilities,” he choked out. Why was it so much harder to say out loud?

“Oh, sweetie…it’s okay. You’ll find him eventually, right? If it’s meant to be, that is. If I can say so, I’m kind of glad. We’ve been thinking it over and decided maybe it was time for a change...how do you feel about California?”

Dream had refused to say another goodbye to his best friend, one was as much as he could get through. A nurse had stayed behind when Tech left to watch him, benefit of having bipolar, he guessed, she got stuck staying with him to watch for any behavior changes.

“Clay, why don’t we get your mind off him? Maybe some uno?” the nurse offered, as much as she didn’t like the blonde, she still cared about him. Those kids were good for each other, it was a shame the pinkette had to go. He’d been good for the younger…

Dream shrugged, lacking the energy to fight, “sure,” he moped, jumping off his bed to meet her on the floor. He remembered their earlier promise, they’d find each other eventually.


	2. 2. Tech?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Dream?” this time he froze. Yeah his voice was a lot lower, a little more midwestern drawl, but…
> 
> “T-tech?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter was a *bitch* to write, I kind of put myself in an awkward place moving forwards. This is almost completely filler, we get actual conversation and stuff next chapter (Which I'm gonna start working on ASAP!) so sorry, thanks for putting up with me <3
> 
> SPeaaaaking of updates, follow my new twitter @keneth_thegreat! I don't use twitter but I thought it'd be a good idea to be able to get y'all's feedback (I have a BIG work comin up lol), prompts or requests, and just to chat with y'all! I'm in nursing school, so once the winter semester starts I'll be a little less available to post (don't worry- Jan 19!) so I'll be able to keep y'all updated on that kinda stuff. 
> 
> ANyways, plug done, ENJOY!

“This is the man, guys. I’m just gonna follow Technoblade,” Dream called out, character sprinting after the pig hybrid. He was a little star struck, not gonna lie. Some of the guys on this server were really big, great players. But Technoblade...he’d caught Dream’s interest early. He wasn’t popular like the other guys for multiple gameplay, he mostly only played minecraft, just like Dream. The pig skinned character didn’t show his face for the same reason Dream didn’t plan to, it didn’t matter.

He ran a little further after the character, ignoring Bad’s calls to come get a screenshot with some other person. Technoblade wasn’t getting away without noticing him.

Dream scowled as his cannon sounded, having eliminated himself with TnT. He panicked fighting Technoblade, accidentally opening the anvil window and not having a chance to run away. There went his chance of impressing the other streamer…

Techno sprinted away from the madhouse, souping up to get some space. That Dream guy got him a little low, not much though. He’d have to watch out for him when the kid got better, but for now, “Technoblade never dies!”

When roles reversed during MCC, Dream found himself awestruck that Technoblade had been simping for him! Granted, he didn’t find out until after, but the sentiment sent sparks of excitement throughout his entire body. He couldn’t wait to talk to that guy.

For some reason, the two streamers clicked right away, developing a playful ‘rivalry’ that benefited both of them in tenfold, even splitting a 100k duel. Their conversations on stream usually amounted to one of them insulting the other, though both knew there were smiles hidden behind a lack of camera, laughter stifled into arms or with a mute button. What chats didn’t see was even better.

“Great job on that combo, you had me actually low that time,” Techno teased, slight inflection in his voice betraying his joke. Dream snorted, “oh, come on. I know you were down to at least 4 hearts twice before then, no way you bodied those hits based on armor statistics and damage ranges.”

Techno fucking laughed, he absolutely loved when the slightly younger man showed his knowledge. Look, anyone could understand minecraft mechanics and tricks, but Dream processed them at speeds others could only hope to reach once, let alone on the regular. “God, you’re such a nerd, someone might think you’re obsessed,” he bit out while jumping around on the surrounding architecture. 

Dream laughed, “hyperfixation is the correct term, god, Techno, someone might try and cancel you for not knowing every single politically correct term….would be nice to take the heat off me for once!”

“Well, good news that neither of us are live. And you dare to correct me, the person who started getting distracted in the middle of a HUNDRED THOUSAND dollar duel, on ADHD terminology? You’re the one getting cancelled again, nerd.”

“I have ADHD too! Ableist pig!” Dream spat out, smirking behind his screen. The two men began a race to see who could get the highest with the blocks available to them, silence falling that should be awkward, but was extremely comfortable. Neither of them knew why they got along, they just did.

The next time they were in a call together, Tommy was with them, after a SMP roleplay. They were all offline, just messing around and debriefing from what had happened. 

“Dream, what was your favorite part of, uh, what’s your class called when you’re 14?” 

The blonde man snorted, “you think after spending as much time as you do with Americans, you’d pick up the terminology. It should have been my first year of highschool so I should have been a freshman, but I took a year off between 8th grade and 9th grade,” he explained while killing every mob within hitting difference. 

Tommy cocked his head to the side, visibly confused, “wait, big man, did you get retained?” His character walked up to Dream’s and began trying to encase him in cobblestone.

Techno watched as Dream began attacking Tommy, both fistfighting despite having full netherite armor and weapons available, “I didn’t know that, Dream,” he offered, trying to be slightly more tactful than the teenager.

The green man crouched, peering at the ground mock embarrassed, “I was in a hospital and they didn’t want me to get stressed by trying to go back to school too early,” he offered offhandedly. He then switched positions on Tommy and began trying to trap him.

Techno’s eyes widened the same way they always did when he was reminded of being in his first mental institution. Luckily he hadn’t needed (read: been forced) into a hospital since he was 16, but each visit tended to stick with him, different people, different places, different doctors. “Y’know, I was in a hospital for part of eighth grade,” he blurted out, absolutely not intending on saying anything. The pinkette muted himself, cursing under his breath, if anyone didn’t need that information, it was Tommy.

“You both were sick as kids? That explains why you’re so good at minecraft!” he exclaimed to both older men’s confusion, “you must’ve been stuck inside a lot, right? Free video game time, nice nice!”

Dream absolutely lost it, wheezing like crazy to Tommy’s confused repeated ‘what’s so funny, big man?’ Techno couldn’t help but let out a few chuckles at the sound, Dream’s laugh was contagious. It took several minutes for the younger man to recover, character completely still for once. “Tom, I wasn’t sick, well, I was sick. I was in a psych ward,” he giggled, still caught up on the teen’s first comment.

Tommy’s face dropped, causing both Techno and Dream to burst into laughter once more. Their amusement drowned out the teen’s repeated apologies, begging them to not leak anything to Twitter because he didn’t mean to be offensive, please big men!

“Tommy, it’s fine. If I was sensitive about it, I wouldn’t have told you, seriously,” Dream soothed as Tommy became increasingly panicky. Despite assuring the younger teen that Dream had been joking, Tommy gave a quick excuse and exited the call, entertaining the older two even more.

Somehow, they logged off minecraft and remained on call chatting briefly. Techno felt some kind of tugging in the back of his brain, telling him to share his own institution with the younger man, but refused. He wasn’t about to start sharing about his personal life like that, even with his favorite member of the SMP, well, maybe tied with Phil.

“Tech, you know you don’t have to walk on eggshells around me, right? I’m sorry if you were sick or something, I just couldn’t help but make Tommy uncomfortable,” the blonde apologized. Techno barely heard half of it, too focused on-

“What did you call me?”

Dream flushed, he didn’t mean to- bringing up the hospital reminded him of his first real friend since kindergarten who made those two or three months together bearable, even if he’d been there for a total of nearly 10 months alone without him. “I-I’m sorry, just reminded me of-”

“Dream?” this time he froze. Yeah his voice was a lot lower, a little more midwestern drawl, but…

“T-tech?”


	3. 3. Dumbasses talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two mentally ill dumbasses talk, with such obvious names, how'd they not know? Idiots.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya, I'm back (only a few hours later, hopefully you didn't miss me TOO much!) This fic's needed a lot more explanation than expected, so sorry for the filler. It is good practice for my next chapter fic though ;) Lil teaser for y'all.
> 
> Anyways, my entire family's sick so I'm absolutely *hiding* in my room, will probably post more stuff today for funsies, so check your emails!
> 
> If you're tired of subscription updates taking 30 minutes to an hour to get to y'all (yes, me and my partner timed it because I'm needy and like immediate gratification and feedback lol), follow my new twitter @keneth_thegreat for updates about ongoing stories, teasers for new fics, and even to give your own input! I've never really used twitter (I know...I'm 20 and made it this far XD) but I want to be able to chat with y'all, this community's been amazing and I've really appreciated all the support <3 Love y'all, enjoy, and catch ya later losers!

“Dream?” this time he froze. Yeah his voice was a lot lower, a little more midwestern drawl, but…

“T-tech?”

The two men sat in silence for a long time, to an outsider it may be too long, but they both had to take the time to process. Dream spoke first, “when the fuck were you in Florida? I thought you lived in California!”

“I-we moved literally two weeks after I got discharged...I think my parents couldn’t stay in the house anymore,” he stuttered, mind still flying. He knew Dream, his Dream and minecraft Dream were the same…”I’m fucking stupid, how many idiots go by ‘Dream’,” the pink haired man drawled. 

The blonde bristled, “hey! It’s not a stupid name, I didn’t hear you complaining Tech,” he lashed out, no actual heat behind the words. “How’d we go this far without making the connection? What are we, degenerates?”

A huff came from the other line, “I-I really don’t know. I guess I kind of decided that my Dream was ...gone, y’know? We were both kind of fucked up, either of us could’ve ended up, uh, worse off than here,” he danced around the words they both meant, dead, or in jail, “I-I never expected to end up successful on the internet, so many people don’t make it. How was I supposed to make the connection between you and the other millions of kids tryin’ to become famous?”

Silence filled the call, Techno beginning to worry he’d reached a little too far, before Dream spoke up, “I mean, I should’ve made the connection between Technoblade and Tech. I-you’ve never talked about living in Florida, even when people made fun of me or whatever. And, uh, I guess I thought the same...about, um, not turning out like this. For a while I didn’t think I’d be here this long,” he chuckled self-deprecatingly, “Besides, I roomed with kids who called themselves all sorts of shit: Candycane, Star, Pooter, Nuts- hey! Don’t laugh at him, he was completely crazy and decided the name fit, but he was a better friend than a lot of other kids! I didn’t like my name so I chose Dream. Tech- considering how much you don’t like your real name…”

“I didn’t want people knowing it. You’re right, I don’t like it, not as much as you, of course, but more so I didn’t like the idea of people out there just...knowin,” he trailed off.

A longer silence.

“So,” Techno awkwardly said, “how’s the bipolar?” Dream wheezed, “what the fu-what kind of question is that you dumbass? How-how’s the-” he wheezed again, making the teakettle noise he was known for. Techno huffed, “well what did you want me to ask? I’m tryin’ ta check in!”

Dream caught his breath, voice a little hoarse still, “it’s, it’s fine I guess. Haven’t had any major mania in a few months, caught myself before my last episode. Fairly stable. How’s the depression and ‘sewer slide’ as the kids say?”

Techno flushed, “okay, I see how awkward that is. Uh-fine, streaming helps make me actually shower and drink water and stuff. No...did you say sewer slide, like the goddamned ninja turtles or something? None of that in a while I guess. Got social anxiety added on, if you couldn’t figure that out on your own,” he gave a crooked little smile despite knowing Dream couldn’t see him.

Another silence, it was surprisingly hard to process your trauma buddy secretly being your adult friend. “Pretty fun of us to come up with our gamertags when in the midst of severe mental illness, huh?” Techno quipped, completely dead tone. He broke, high pitched laughter bursting from deep in his chest. Dream followed suit, “I mean, isn’t that when inspiration strikes best?” he added, giggling.

Dream yawned, jaw cracking with the effort. The pink haired man cringed, “oh man, it must be late over there, huh? Go to bed, we can talk more tomorrow if you want. I wanna hear what happened to 13 year old Dream after I left, god knows you relied on me to cover your back in there. Sleep, Dream,” he finished gently, in the same tone he remembered using during the worst of the younger boy’s nights.

He shuddered, “god it’s so weird that we knew each other back then. I wanna know about moving to Cali, I was actually looking at apartments out there, would be nice to be closer to acting or whatever to go into after being a minecraft creator,” he smiled weakly. Another yawn broke through, distorting his voice, “goodnight, Tech. Talk to ya tomorrow.”

True to his word, Dream messaged Tech the next morning when he woke up, “Morning, nerd. Here’s the number I couldn’t give you back then, text me when you’re ready to hop on. Maybe we could video call?” The blonde was anxious, he’d barely begun face calling with Sapnap and George, friends he played minecraft with for years. But there seemed to be a different relationship when said friend had, quite literally, seen you at one of your absolute worst moments. Besides, Tech had already seen his face- granted nearly 8 years ago- it wasn’t like he’d be completely shocked.

His phone buzzed a few hours later with a simple “yes.” Dream practically sprinted to his computer, sliding the tape off of his computer’s camera. After the amount of times he’d been doxed, or attempted, he’d learned to take precautionary measures. He called, bouncing up and down in his seat as it went through and began connecting.

“Tech!” he cried as the pink haired man’s profile appeared. He’d grown up, that much as obvious. He had the same long face, high cheekbones, and eyes, but his jaw had strengthened and hair was much longer, almost as long as Dream’s own. He had on thin wired glasses and a surprisingly anxious expression. The younger was almost confused, until he remembered that Techno didn’t show his face either, this was just as scary to him as Dream.

In all honesty, Tech was going through the same feelings as Dream, anxious and excited. How much had changed from that childish cuteness he’d had back then? As his picture popped up, grin spreading his face wide, Tech was tempted to say nothin’ had changed at all, he still looked like the kid just excited to have someone to play uno with who wouldn’t try to strangle him. He’d definitely grown up, at second glance, hair long enough to braid and face just flat out handsome, betraying every flash of emotion he felt. Tech shrugged, “look the same,” he said indifferently. 

Dream spluttered, “wha-no! I...I hadn’t even hit puberty yet, what do you mean ‘the same,’ you’re an assole,” he cried.

“Nerd, I was joking. Of course you changed, you got that long hair now.”

The blonde blushed, tugging at a strand that threatened to fall into his eyes, “I haven’t gotten around to cutting it, okay? I’m gonna need to soon- it keeps falling in my eyes.” Technoblade found himself speaking before he truly meant to, “don’t, it’s too pretty to get rid of,” then blushed, “I-I mean it’s too healthy and stuff, I-just get some hair ties or learn to braid, you fool.”

Dream found himself flushing all the way to his ears, tugging a little harder on the strand, “o-oh, um, yeah. I-I don’t know if I could braid, but…I’ll try, I guess.” Techno looked away from the camera.

“Uh, if you ever find yourself across the country, I could teach you? I learned on my little sister, if I could braid her hair while she was wigglin’ all around and barely had sprouts, I’m sure I could do yours,” he paused, “th-that is, if you wanted to.” Dream quickly agreed.

“So,” Techno changed the subject, “what’ve you been up to?”

The younger perked up, beginning to ramble so fast Techno could barely catch what he was saying. Barely.

He’d stayed there for 4-6 months, why he ended up falling back in class. “Bipolar,” he explained, “was hard. You couldn’t be too happy or too sad or it was a symptom.” He’d visited a therapist all the way until he turned 20, but since his meds were stable, they decided he was fine for now. Occasionally, he felt himself leaning towards an episode, but they’d calmed down and could usually stop them, or at least the worst of his symptoms.

“Your turn,” he challenged after running out of breath slumped over his desk. Techno cleared his throat nervously, he hadn’t shared this kinda stuff with anyone.

Like he said, his parents and him moved almost immediately after he got discharged, “I could tell their eyes glazed over when they passed by my bedroom. It took days for them to let me close the door, and even then they’d have this horrible look on their face, somethin’ just pure fear, when they opened it. I-I don’t think they could’ve taken much longer there,” he rasped, cheeks turning red. He hated thinking about what he’d put them through. Techno’s school in California was much better, giving the kids more freedom in their schedule and day. He’d excelled, still without many friends, but his grades shot up. They’d stopped the streak of giving him detention for stupid stuff like daring to be bullied. He’d gone to a few clinics during that time, some inpatient, some outpatient, before he got placed on medication that worked, not just make him too sleepy to function.

His parents had been hesitant to let him move out, one of the reasons he still lived at home. Dream had but in, saying the same thing. They didn’t not trust him, he quickly shared, but didn’t want him on his own in case of a relapse. Dream just hadn’t found someone he trusted with that information about him just yet, especially after blowing up to 14 million subscribers.

Techno found himself speaking before thinking once again, something that seemed to be a common theme when Dream was around, “come live with me.”

“Excuse me?” Dream’s eyes locked onto his through the screen, making Techno shiver even though he knew the younger man was looking at a camera, not really meeting his eyes with that intense gaze. He sucked in a deep breath, committing, “I mean it, come to California. You said it yourself, it’d be helpful for your future. Besides, neither of our families want us moving out alone, who better to move in with than someone who helped me through a lot of my treatment,” he cleared his throat, scratching the back of his neck to settle some of the nerves, “I, uh, talked a lot about you when I got discharged, y’know? My mom was thrilled that I finally had a friend, but, um, since we couldn’t stay in touch…”

Dream nodded, shame filling his eyes. They hadn’t been super well off, he really didn’t have the information to offer the pink haired boy he’d come to depend on in the ward. Techno frowned at the darkening look, coughing once to draw attention back to him, “anyways, I have you now. I...uh, you don’t have to give me an answer now. You have time, I don’t have anythin’ lined up anyways. Just, just know I’d like it, okay? I-I’ve thought about you a lot,” he watched, intrigued, as Dream’s face turned cherry red, “and now that I have you, sue me for wantin’ to keep you close.”

The younger boy swallowed heavily, ignoring the flicker of tears filling his eyes, not on camera. “I-let me talk to my parents, I’d, I’d like that, Tech…” he trailed off, deciding to bite the bullet, “I m-missed you too.”

The spoke for a little longer, easily moving on to dumb topics, their upcoming plans for their channels, parkour, their pets. It was simple to slip back into the comfortable conversation they’d had back then, nearly 8 years ago felt like a weekend away. When they hung up, Techno felt lighter than he’d felt in, well, certainly a long time. He shut off his computer, throwing open his door to talk to his parents, he didn’t wanna be the one waiting for a conversation if anything came of his proposal. An odd hope filled his chest, warmth licking up from his belly.

**Author's Note:**

> As usual, all interaction and support is greatly appreciated! Looking forward to getting into the meat and potatoes of this piece. Still super early, so be patient...gotta set the scene haha. Update looking @ Friday night by the latest EST. Sending love <3


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